Giovanni Pernice
Giovanni Pernice '(born September 5, 1990) is an Italian dancer and choreographer, best known as a professional dancer on the BBC One dance series Strictly Come Dancing. Pernice is the Italian Open Latin Dance Champion (2012) and is the current Guinness World Record Holder for Jive Kicks and Flicks. Early Life Pernice was born in Sicily. At the age of 14 he moved to Bologna to concentrate on dance. He chose to become a dancer after watching Come Dancing, a television show about ballroom dance competitions. Specialising in Latin style, Pernice has won a number of competitions including the Italian 2012 Championships. Career 'Dance Tours and Professional Dance Engagements Pernice has taken part in the national Strictly Come Dancing - The Live Tour in 2016 with his celebrity partner Georgia May Foote and again in 2017 as part of the professional dance troupe for group numbers and professional dances. In 2016, Pernice announced his first dance tour "Dance is Life", translated from the Italian expression "Il Ballo e Vita". The tour comprised 32 dates in England, Scotland and Wales between April to July 2017 to positive reviews. The opening night was April 26, 2017 at The Albany Theatre, Coventry. The last performance took place on July 23, 2017 at the Marina Theatre, Lowestoft. The tour was produced by Paul Irving of Strictly Theatre Co. The Director and Choreographer was Jason Gilkison. The lead dancers were Giovanni Pernice with leading lady Luba Mushtuk, with a cast of Kai Widdrington, Giulia Dotta, Robert Rowinski, Dianne Buswell, Curtis Pritchard and Emily Barker. 'Competition History' Pernice is a member of the Federazione Italiana Danza Sportiva, part of the World DanceSport Federation and competed at Youth and Adult levels between 2007 and 2014. Notable results include winning the Italian Open Latin Championships in 2012 with his dance partner Erika Attisano and 2nd place in the International Open Latin in Slovenia 2014. Pernice has won many further Open competitions including Pieve di Cento - Italy (2011), Ancona - Italy (2011); San Marino (2011) and Saint Cugat des Valles - Spain (2011). His competition dance partners include Erika Attisano (2011-2014) and Alexandra Koldan (2014-2015). Personal Life Following Series 13 of Strictly Come Dancing, his partner, Georgia May Foote, confirmed that she was romantically involved with Pernice. At the end of August 2016, they parted, denying that any third party had come between them. Strictly Come Dancing In 2015 Pernice appeared as a professional dancer on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing for its thirteenth series. He was partnered with former Coronation Street actress and model, Georgia May Foote. They reached the finals of the competition, but finished as joint runners-up alongside Kellie Bright and her professional partner, Kevin Clifton. They also participated as partners for the 2016 Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour. In 2016 Pernice returned to Strictly for its fourteenth series. He was partnered with television presenter Laura Whitmore. They were eliminated in Week 7 in a dance-off with Ore Oduba and Joanne Clifton, the Series 14 champions, and finished in 9th place. Pernice has also appeared on a number of episodes of BBC 2 show Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two with Zoe Ball. Pernice is the current Guinness World Record Holder for Jive Kicks and Flicks, performing correctly 55 in 30 seconds in a challenge held in December 2016 on the show with supervision by Guinness World Records. 'Partners' *Georgia May Foote (Series 13) - 2nd Place *Laura Whitmore (Series 14) - 9th Place 'Couples' *Georgia May Foote and Giovanni Pernice *Laura Whitmore and Giovanni Pernice Category:Professional Dancers Category:Male Professional Dancers Category:Series 13 Category:Series 14